The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.

It may seem odd to call a company that's worth $285 billion, has a dominant share of its market, and projections of 15% annual earnings growth for the next few years an underdog. But MORE

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.

These are strange times for the markets. Curiouser and curiouser one might say. If one were a girl who just stumbled upon a bizarre fantasy world.

Facebook shares rallied an impressive 30% Thursday, allowing the stock to book its best one-day gain ever. And while shares remain about 10% below the May 2012 IPO price of $38, analysts are predicting that Facebook is finally on its way to reaching, and even crossing, that threshold.

"Facebook delivered its strongest quarter yet as a public company -- results that we think could be thesis-changing for many," said Doug Anmuth, a MORE

Facebook attracts plenty of users, but the stock continues to have trouble with shareholders. Even its top executives are selling shares.

The most prominent of the recent insider sellers is Facebook (FB) COO Sheryl Sandberg, who sold almost 170,000 shares, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday. She also sold almost 7,000 shares from her family trust.

While Sandberg and the other top dogs at Facebook still own plenty of MORE

U.S. stocks may be on the rise but two former tech darlings are missing out on the move up. Shares of Apple and Facebook were firmly in the red Wednesday as the the Dow jumped more than 100 points for a second straight day.

Is there a stock on the planet that's more polarizing than Facebook (FB)?

Shares of the social networking leader fell Thursday after the company unveiled Video on Instagram, a service tied to the popular photo app that Facebook bought last year for $1 billion. The Insta-reaction was that this video feature might be slightly better than Twitter's video app Vine, but that it was hardly innovative.

There is clearly a lot of anger about the growing U.S. government snooping scandal. But investors aren't expressing any of it.

Despite a report that showed the NSA got a court order to receive phone records from telecom Verizon (VZ), shares rose nearly 3.5% Thursday. That made it the Dow's best performer. The stock was up again Friday.

Overnight, the story mushroomed into something much bigger, as reports of a government program MORE

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.

Sell in May and go away isn't working as an investment strategy so far this year ... unless you sold Facebook.

Shares of Facebook (FB) have plunged 12% in May. They hit their low point of MORE

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings caused a stir last year after he revealed that Netflix's monthly online viewing had exceeded one billion hours on his Facebook page instead of a press release or public filing. That raised concerns about whether social media posts were in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation Fair Disclosure (Regulation FD) rules.

But following an investigation prompted by Hastings' post, the SEC has decided it's MORE

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's plan to pay $62 million to trading firms that incurred losses during Facebook's botched public debut last May.

The four major trading firms -- Knight Capital (KCG), Citadel, Citigroup (C) and UBS (UBS) -- lost a combined $500 million due to technical glitches at the Nasdaq during Facebook's initial public offering.

And while the accommodation plan won't compensate the firms in full, the SEC said it MORE